Best shot

Showing interactions between wildlife species is a great way to create an interesting image.Slowly, cautiously, I lay down on my stomach on the damp tundra. My long lens reached out in front of me as I wriggled slowly forward toward my unsuspecting quarry. Closer, closer I crawled, until the composition finally resembled what I wanted.

I peered through my viewfinder, adjusted, and began to click the shutter.The snap of the shutter rang through the quiet like a gunshot and the animal looked up, fixing me with an intense stare. Then, with a sudden burst of speed, the ground squirrel turned, and scurried back into its burrow.

Not all great wildlife photography is of predators or even large animals. Some of the most compelling images are those of small creatures: birds, insects, or as in the case above, ground squirrels.

Even creating images of common animals in your backyard, or local parks, is a great way to learn the necessary skills for animal photography.When I think about wildlife photography techniques, there are a few things that stand out. Surprisingly, the first that come to mind have nothing to do with equipment. However, my gear does play an important role. My kit for wildlife does not need to be huge, but a few things will prove useful:

Camera- obviously

2Telephoto- a long lens is a near-necessity in wildlife photography, and lenses from 200mm to 600mm are standard.

wide angle – this one may come as a surprise, but I’ve made some of my favorite animal images with a wide angle

4Tripod

What brand, sensor size, and type of camera l choose is completely up to me. Many cameras, even some advanced point and shoots, will work great for wildlife.

But don’t let you gear hold you back. Be creative and shoot with what you have. You don’t always need a big telephoto lens,as my ground squirrel aA general rule of thumb is to set your shutter speed at least as fast as the length of your lens.

If you are shooting with a 500mm lens, you need at least a shutter speed of 1/500th second to create a sharp image better. But really, if you are going for sharpness, the faster your shutter speed the squirrel animals are going to do what they’re going to do. Unfortunately, yourself can’t ask them to look this way, do something cute, or stand where the light is better. I have to be there, and ready, when they decide to look cute or do something interesting. I have to be prepared to wait, and wait, and wait—it takes a long time to get good squirrel shots, even longer to make great ones.

But it’s not wasted time. The longer you spend with an squirel or a group of squirrels.The most common lenses people use for wildlife photography are telephotos because they can be used to shoot from long distances. Some of them feature optical stabilization (OS) to minimize shaking due to the extreme magnification, but these models can also be quite expensive. Thankfully, there are also cheap plastic ones you can use while you're still learning. They may not have OS, but you can always keep them steady on a sturdy tripod and use a high shutter speed to minimize blur. Before l go out, l make sure that l have all the essential gear to keep my equipment and l safe from the elements.

H

The settings l choose on my camera ultimately depends on the shooting conditions, but there are general guidelines l can follow to get the shots want.

H

Photo

The first thing l adjust is the ISO. Typically, it’s best to use a low ISO (100, 200, etc.) to minimize the noise in your photos. For low light situations, however, l can choose a higher ISO as long as it doesn’t affect the image quality. It all depends on the camera am using, but ISO 800 is usually enough to let you shoot in poor lighting without noise becoming too obvious. l need a hat to shield me from the harsh sun or the rain. A boonie hat is perfect because the round brim doesn’t just protect my face but my entire head. I can even get a hat with a mosquito net to keep me safe from little critters.Also,l bring a raincoat that’s big enough to cover me, my backpack, and my camera. I can use it as a mini tent in case of torrential downpours.

First,

can

safe